Five Ukrainian evacuees from Zhytomyr, Ukraine, celebrated a joint bar mitzvah in the Israeli city of Ashkelon last month—a milestone marking not just their coming of age, but their journey from war-torn Ukraine to safety in Israel.
“It was a Zhytomyr celebration in Israel,” one guest said of the ceremony, where each boy received his own tefillin and celebrated with the local community as well as friends who had escaped with them from Zhytomyr.
The celebration was deeply personal for the boys, who had lived at the Alumim Children's Home, an orphanage run by Chabad-Lubavitch of Zhytomyr, for eight years before being evacuated during the Russia-Ukraine war.
“It was a community event but deeply personal,” explained Esther Wilhelm, who alongside her husband, Rabbi Shlomo Wilhelm, directs Chabad-Lubavitch of Western Ukraine in Zhytomyr. “A video was prepared that highlighted each child’s favorite childhood memories: one who loved Lego, another cooking, and so on. It brought smiles to everyone’s faces. You could see—and the children felt—that we truly are one family.”
Among the celebrants was Aleksander, who just three years ago sat in a dark, unheated cellar with no electricity, surrounded by air raids and explosions, asking the rabbi, “Are you going to leave us as well?”
“There was no chance we were going to abandon them,” Rabbi Shlomo Wilhelm told Chabad.org. “These children have been with us for years. We’ve helped them grow from the lowest and darkest places. We couldn’t let them see war. They deserve to experience a normal childhood!”
From Zhytomyr to Safety
Rabbi Wilhelm and his wife, Esther, began their work as Chabad emissaries in Zhytomyr in 1994, dedicated to revitalizing Jewish community life in Western Ukraine. In 2000, they established the Alumim Centre for the Advancement and Welfare of Jewish Children, a children’s home for youth from severely disadvantaged backgrounds.
The Alumim Children’s Home has supported Jewish life by providing education, social services, and round-the-clock care. It fosters a nurturing environment that builds a strong Jewish identity and belonging, helping the children connect deeply with their heritage and values.
“Some of the children come to us from the most traumatic backgrounds,” Rabbi Wilhelm said. “Our goal is to care for them and give them the best chance to lead a healthy and full Jewish life.”
When the Russia-Ukraine war broke out in February 2022, the Wilhelms had to act quickly. With air raid sirens wailing and airstrikes dangerously close, the children needed to be evacuated immediately.
“There were no decent bomb shelters,” Rabbi Wilhelm shared. “We were forced to take cover in cold, dark cellars without heating or electricity. We realized fast that we had to move the children westward to safety.”
Some of the children’s teachers were called back to Israel by the Ministry of Education, leaving the children worried that the Wilhelm’s might abandon them as well.
“We weren’t going to leave them,” Esther Wilhelm said firmly. “Within hours of an airstrike on Feb. 24, 2022, we evacuated 60 children and some of their families to the Carpathian Mountains, a safer location than Zhytomyr. We rented a hotel temporarily to house and feed them. Later, we moved them further west toward Romania until we could bring them safely to Israel.”
“The journey felt supernatural,” Wilhelm recalls. “Some children didn’t have passports or any documents, which were impossible to obtain during wartime.”
The Wilhelms also faced challenges securing transportation due to manpower shortages at the home-front caused by the war.
“The fact that we got them all out was nothing short of a miracle,” Rabbi Wilhelm said. “We were like the Jews following the cloud in the desert, not knowing the next steps, yet fully relying on G‑d’s guidance.”
Mrs. Wilhelm adds, “You can only imagine what it was like driving for hours during aerial bombardments.”
A New Home in Israel
Once in Israel, the Wilhelms connected with her brother, a Chabad emissary in Nes Harim. Together, they worked to house and feed the children, helping them acclimate to Israeli society, enrolling them in the local Jewish school.
After six months in Nes Harim, the Wilhelms secured a permanent location in Ashkelon to re-establish the Alumim Children’s Home.
“Together with the Jewish National Fund, we worked to give them everything they left behind—and more—so the children would feel safe, secure, and at home. Seeing this all materialize was in itself a miracle in itself,” Rabbi Wilhelm said.
“When we escaped Zhytomyr, the boys were nine-and-a-half or 10 years old,” he shared. “To see them celebrating now at 13, after all they have been through, connected to their faith and Jewish heritage, is truly awe-inspiring.”
The Wilhelms now divide their time between Zhytomyr and Ashkelon, continuing their work with the Alumim Children’s Home. They return regularly to their home in Zhytomyr to be with all the Jewish community remembers who remain, and ensure that no matter where their flock is around the globe, Chabad of Zhytomyr is always there to care.
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